Interview with Shri Karti P. Chidambaram regarding 66 Davis Cup

29th December 2009 - Indian Express

2010 Chennai Open will bring '66 Davis Cup alive  Indian tennis legend Ramanathan Krishnan is pleased that the AITA, TNTA and organising committee of the Chennai Open will be felicitating the 1966 Indian Davis Cup team during the Chennai Open in January 2010. The team comprising Krishnan, S P Misra, Jaidip Mukerjea and the late Premjit Lall took India to the Davis Cup final (known as Challenge Round at that time) for the first time. Krishnan has fond memories of that day when he defeated Thomas Koch of Brazil in the decider at South Club in Kolkata to take India to the final He rates 1966 team as the best the country has seen. "It's special when you take your country to the final round for the first time. All of us played as a team. Each one wished the other did well. The camaraderie, the sprit with which we played and the quality of game each possessed is unmatched by any of the Davis Cup teams the country has produced. The 1966 team was the best and I am proud to be part of it,'' said Krishnan. Today many top ranked players skip Davis Cup matches, but in those days every player in the world made it a point to play. "At that time we had all the big players playing Davis Cup. Only the best teams came to the last four stage. In the inter-zonal (two grou ps at that time) semifinals I managed to beat Willhelm Bung ert (a Wimbledon finalist later that year) of West Germany," recollected Krishnan.In the inter-zonal final against Brazil, Krishnan played one of his finest matches for India. "It was marathon match and perhaps my best performance for India in the Davis Cup. After being 1-2 and 2-5 down in the fourth set against Thomas Koch I managed to pull it off. Koch won the first set. I won the second. In the fourth set when it was 2-5 in favour of Koch, I was angry with myself for being in that position.   I also prayed that I should make a comeback. When I am angry I play well, I attacked better and thus managed to win that match,'' said Krishnan. In the final against Australia, Krishnan and Jaidip Mukerjea won the doubles match against John Newcombe and Tony Roche, but Krishnan lost both his singles matches (against Fred Stolle and Roy Emerson) as India lost 1-4. "Although my head-to head record against Stolle and Emerson was good, Stolle and Emerson played better than me in the final. I was 29 years old then and after so many years in the circuit I had a slight back problem. My wrists were also not as supple as before when I was younger,'' recalled Krishnan. "Newcombe and Roche were the best doubles pair in the world at that time. Their defeat to us was the first that year for them. I think Newcombe and Roche were overconfident and underestimated me and Jaidip,'' added Krishnan, stating that he was eager to catch up with his team during the Chennai Open.